L. Rytas puts El-Amin at point

Though not in time for its first Turkish Airlines Euroleague game on Wednesday, the point guard void at Lietuvos Rytas has been filled by the signing of veteran playmaker Khalid El-Amin for the remainder of the season. El-Amin (178, 31) brings long-term experience to the job, having spent the last decade as a major scorer in four different European countries. His signing was necessary for L. Rytas after the player chosen for the point guard job in the off-season, Jerry Johnson, went down with a knee injury last week. Johnson is expected to miss at least six weeks, but if he returns in that time frame, L. Rytas will have a strong duo handling the ball. El-Amin last season led Kiev Budivelnyk to the Ukrainian League title while averaging 20.5 points and 5.1 assists. The year before that, with Azovmash of the Ukraine, he averaged 17.9 points in the Eurocup. His best scoring season was with his first Turkish team, Besiktas Cola Turka, when he averaged 21.4 points in 2004-05. El-Amin has also played for Turk Telekom in Turkey as well as Strasbourg in France, Ramat Gan in Israel and Chicago of the NBA. He rose to attention as the point guard on a University of Connecticut team that won the NCAA championship in 2000.